You are the temple that houses the Spirit of God, and you must continuously be a house of prayer, putting out every insignificance and filling your heart with the things that glorify God.
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ”
1 Corinthians 6:19 (NKJV)
This week, you have learned what it means to be a temple, a house of prayer.
The temple was described as the most significant structure in the Jewish world: a place where heaven meets earth. It was a physical structure where sacrifices were offered, and God’s presence was felt.
Isaiah 56:7
New King James Version
7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.
God is the one speaking, delivering a message through the prophet Isaiah. God declares that His temple will be a place of worship and prayer for all nations.
However, Mark 11:17 shows a reality where Jesus describes the temple as a den of thieves, a shadow of itself. The people had replaced the most important thing with insignificant things. They had the wrong consciousness towards reverence for God. Things like this do not just happen in the physical temple.
Acts 17:24
New King James Version
24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
Apostle Paul points out that God does not dwell in temples made with hands and he makes this explicit in 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 3:16
New King James Version
16 ”Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?".
You are the temple that houses the Spirit of God. And you must continuously be a house of prayer, putting out every insignificance and filling your heart with the things that glorify God.
As the temple of God, there are some things to do in order to keep yourself a house of prayer.
1. Daily Prayer
1 Thessalonians 5:17 teaches how to remain in that temple: pray without ceasing. Not a once-in-a-while activity but a continuous one like breathing. When all seems well or not, when you have much to pray about and when it seems there's nothing to pray about, in the great and the ordinary moments, PRAY.
Galatians shows that this is a daily fight, not a one-time decision:
Galatians 5:16-17
New King James Version
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
To keep God's house pleasing to him, we must walk in the things of the Spirit daily and consistently, and set aside the things of the flesh.
Before you go out today, sit with your schedule and pick a dedicated time to pray and do your best to keep it. Go as far as setting your alarm at various times to remind you of your prayer times.
2. A Bible Study Plan
Bible study not only increases your knowledge of God’s word, but it also opens your mind to know the heart of the Father. In the place of Bible study, the Holy Spirit would impress on your mind what to pray for, and you would find yourself aligned with the will of God.
However, for this to happen, you need a plan and a target. By the end of each month, how many books should you have covered? How many chapters per week? Build a system of smaller targets that can culminate into the larger goal.
3. Fellowship with Other Believers
After the ascension, the disciples immediately gathered in the upper room to pray: Peter, James, John, Andrew, and the rest, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus (Acts 1:12-14). They stayed there praying and waiting for the Pentecost.
After Pentecost, the pattern continued:
Acts 2:42
New King James Version
42 They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
The believers sat under teaching and prayed together. The early church didn't treat corporate prayer with levity, because it did something to their spiritual growth. Take every gathering for prayer as important.
4. Accountability
This is one of the most imperative steps toward a functional, effective prayer life: finding a trusted person who can offer direction and call you to order in critical moments.
Consistency isn't just showing up every day, but it's also coming back to pick up the rope where you left off. That's why you need someone with permission to call you back when you derail from the plan you made at the beginning of the year.
Before this week ends, name that person who would keep you accountable. Create and tell them your prayer time and your Bible plan target. Ask them to keep an eye on you with a weekly text asking, "Did you pray this week?" or a monthly sit-down to review your devotional goal and agree on it out loud.
You must never fill your temple with levity; you must see that it is consistently filled with things of the Spirit, which is a sweet-smelling savour pleasing to God.
Prayer
Lord, help me keep my temple a house of prayer. I keep to the structure I set up for myself. My heart is consistently filled with the things of the Spirit and is pleasing to God.
